savitski Archives

10 February 2025 A schematic of a mouse showing the gut and the brain linked by a diffuse stream of light. Brain proteins with glycosyl groups shown in a different colour are seen in the periphery, and an inset shows bacteria in the gut.

A schematic of a mouse showing the gut and the brain linked by a diffuse stream of light. Brain proteins with glycosyl groups shown in a different colour are seen in the periphery, and an inset shows bacteria in the gut.

Bacteria, brains, and sugar: scientists uncover new connections

Scientists have discovered that gut bacteria can alter molecular signatures in the brain, using a brand new method to study how carbohydrates modify proteins.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2025

science-technology

24 September 2024 Illustration showing several drugs being broken down when reaching a community of gut bacteria. This community has different types of bacteria.

Illustration showing several drugs being broken down when reaching a community of gut bacteria. This community has different types of bacteria.

Better together: gut microbiome communities’ resilience to drugs

EMBL Heidelberg researchers compared the effect of drugs on isolated bacteria versus those growing in communities. This is the first study showing that bacteria are more resilient when in community due to cross-protection strategies. This could help researchers design more efficient therapies.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2024

science-technology

25 January 2024 An oval light blue shape. In the central part, there is a smaller a red object, from which stem many highly branched smaller canals that cover a significant part of the blue surface. The whole sponge image is in placed in a circle. The background around the circle is blue-green.

An oval light blue shape. In the central part, there is a smaller a red object, from which stem many highly branched smaller canals that cover a significant part of the blue surface. The whole sponge image is in placed in a circle. The background around the circle is blue-green.

Ancient ‘relaxant-inflammatory’ response gets sponges moving

Sponges lack muscles and neurons. Yet, they make coordinated movements. Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg have discovered that sponge movement is controlled by an ancient ‘relaxant-inflammatory’ response that is also present in vertebrate blood vessels. The findings shed light on sponge physiology…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2024

sciencescience-technology

8 September 2021 Illustration of two halves of a pill, which releases chemical molecules that are taken up by gut bacteria in the vicinity.

Common medications accumulate in gut bacteria

A new collaborative study led by EMBL group leaders Kiran Patil, Nassos Typas, and Peer Bork has found that common medications accumulate in human gut bacteria. This process reduces drug effectiveness and affects the metabolism of common gut microbes, thereby altering the gut microbiome.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2021

sciencescience-technology

16 February 2021 Microscopy images of coronavirus-infected cells in blue and red, arranged on a clockface. Illustrations of virus particles.

Finding coronavirus’s helper proteins

A team of EMBL scientists and colleagues have analysed how the novel coronavirus affects proteins in human cells. They identified several human proteins as potential drug targets to prevent viral replication.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2021

sciencescience-technology

9 December 2020 Illustration of a rod-shaped bacterial cell, superimposed on a red and blue background.

Heating proteins to understand how genes work

A new paper from EMBL’s Savitski team and Typas group describes their work on E. coli and how it brings a greater understanding of the way genes function and interact.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

15 April 2020

Identifying how potential COVID-19 drugs work

EMBL researchers are studying how drugs that have shown good results against COVID-19 work in living cells

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

20 January 2020

Melting reveals drug targets in a living organism

EMBL scientists identify drug targets in blood and organs

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2020

sciencescience-technology

11 March 2019 A visualisation of a membraneless organelle in the green-yellow style of the data presented in the Nature Communications paper

ATP affects proteome-wide solubility

Scientists develop technology to measure how ATP concentration affects protein solubility in cells

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2019

sciencescience-technology

26 April 2018 Dividing cell colored in a heat gradient, highlighting the variation in proteins’ thermal stability within and between different cell cycle stages. IMAGE: Aleksandra Krolik / EMBL

Dividing cell colored in a heat gradient, highlighting the variation in proteins’ thermal stability within and between different cell cycle stages. IMAGE: Aleksandra Krolik / EMBL

Protein stability and solubility during cell cycle

EMBL scientists uncover large solubility and thermal stability changes of proteins during the cell cycle

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2018

sciencescience-technology

15 March 2018

How drugs affect the life and death of proteins

Scientists at EMBL and Cellzome develop technology to monitor the effects of drug treatments on protein degradation and synthesis

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

2018

sciencescience-technology

15 February 2018 Architecture dependent turnover of the nuclear pore subunits. Top row shows the nuclear pore subunits seen from top, bottom row shows subunits of the nuclear pore cut in half.